Lung Cancer Diagnostic and Screening; Improves Cancer Outcomes by Providing Care at the Earliest Possible Stage

  

                 Lung Cancer Diagnostic and Screening 

Lung cancer diagnostic and screening tests help find lung cancer and look for spread. Staging tests may include imaging procedures that allow doctors to look for evidence that cancer has spread beyond the lungs. Some lung cancer can be found by screening, but most lung cancers are found because they are causing problems. Lung cancer is a type of cancer that begins in the lungs and most often occurs in people who smoke. It is inherently more difficult to diagnose because one can neither see nor feel the lungs, so the main way to diagnose it is when it causes symptoms such as pain or cough.

Unfortunately, symptoms usually only occur when cancer has become too advanced to cure. Lung cancer diagnostic and screening tests include chest X-ray, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), Bone scan, Sputum cytology, thoracentesis, needle biopsy, bronchoscopy, and thoracoscopy, among others. An X-ray image of the lungs may reveal an abnormal mass or nodule, whereas a CT scan may reveal small lesions in the lungs that might not be detected on an X-ray. MRI scans are commonly used to look for the possible spread of lung cancer to the brain or spinal cord.

While CT scans are useful for detecting suspicious pulmonary nodules, they cannot be used alone to diagnose lung cancer. Low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) is the current gold standard for lung cancer diagnostic and screening. Moreover, clinical guidelines recommend annual screening for lung cancer with the LDCT in high-risk asymptomatic individuals. Lung cancer is treated in several ways, depending on the type of lung cancer and how far it has spread. The earlier cancer is diagnosed and treated the better chance of cure and survival. Early diagnosis improves cancer outcomes by providing care at the earliest possible stage.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, a branch of the National Institutes of Health, lung cancer is the most common cancer-related death worldwide. In Germany, it accounts for 25% of cancer deaths in men and 14% in women. Thus, with the increasing prevalence of lung cancer across the globe, the demand for lung cancer diagnostic and screening is also increasing at a rapid pace.